Cactus
__notoc__ This character belongs to Puppy! Please do not use anything on this page without her permission! Thank you! Cactus is an Outclaw residing in the Scorpion Den with his son, Sidewinder. He’s truly like his name- a prickly thing with squishy insides. It’s a bit hard to get on his good side, and pretty easily get on his bad side, but he’ll be the most loyal dragon you know when (and if) you do befriend him. Appearance Cactus’s main scales are mostly a mustardy-yellow in color, something I REALLY hate because it looks like normal skin tone SO MUCH, or like, just a color I don’t really like in general. His secondary scales are yellow, with more of a bronze-gold tint to the scales between them. His underwings are a light yellow, the only part of him that really makes sense since he’s a SandWing. A long scar runs down around his snout right above his nose (which makes him look even cuter when I draw him 0.0), along with tinier scars across his body from years of service. His frill/whatever-it’s-called is ripped and torn in several places, and quite frankly makes it hard for a dragon to believe he never fought in the war. His build is muscular, as expected for an Outclaw. The only thing that truly stands out is his wings, being a bit larger than a normal SandWing’s. Cactus wears no jewelry, only the natural decorations of age and battles. “Remind me why you haven’t gotten bitten by a dragonbite viper, again?”- Cactus to Sidewinder Backstory Cactus was born in Three Moons Oasis, a small oasis town really that far from Possibility. Even then, he was often the one to shoot down the others. He was close to three other SandWings, Celeste, Ocotillo, and Saguaro. They grew up with each other, until they were all fully grown. That’s when everyone just started getting distant. Celeste started randomly disappearing every now and again, Ocotillo and Saguaro started dating, which left Cactus with just being by himself. One day he thought of traveling out of his desert home, so he did. He traveled over the mountains and found himself near the Rainforest, where he met a RainWing named Hibiscus. She got lost while searching for flowers, and Cactus thought he’d never see such a kind dragon in his life like her. He helped her get back to the Rainforest, then went back home himself. It wasn’t about two years later when he realized he liked Hibiscus, as he kept coming back to meet with her once and a while. But needing money and food that his home couldn’t supply, Cactus moved to the Scorpion Den, only to be further from his crush. He met Thorn only a year before Hibiscus had children, joining the band of dragons she called “the Outclaws” to make the Scorpion Den a better place. Cactus climbed the ranks quickly, being a favorable companion to most of the other members for whatever their needs be. Then Cactus found Hibiscus was with an egg. She was much more heartbroken about it than he was; after all, there was one egg, how could both of them care for it if they lived in two different places too far away from each other? He told her she could keep the egg and raise it, not really minding what the dragonet would think of him. Until, well, Hibiscus showed the eggs to him. Then there were two, one colored like a normal SandWing egg, the other multicolored and shimmery. She suggested they both took one, so Cactus chose the sand colored one, and flew back to the Scorpion Den with a plan in mind. He was going to ask Thorn to let the dragonet in the Outclaws; but he’d need to tell her about the dragonet’s mother. Cactus was surprised at how well Thorn took it, and how quickly she accepted. He thanked her and went on with his life, waiting for the egg to hatch while wondering how obnoxious a newborn dragonet would be to take care of. And there’s not much after that. He raised Sidewinder, discovered the tunnels, used them to visit the Rainforest at least once a month, et cetera. Cactus discovered Celeste was in the Scorpion Den, too, after Sidewinder admitted his crush towards her daughter, Cala. And he’s trying to juggle raising Sidewinder, being an Outclaw, and trying to catch up with Celeste along with Ocotillo all in one. “I’m an Outclaw! Outclaws don’t trip on stupid vines in the Rainforest!”- Cactus Personality Cactus is a strict father and down-to-earth ally. If you ever wanted to be dragged out of your fantasy and back into the horrible real world, he’s your dragon. He’s practical and orderly, with an annoyance for recklessness. Overall, Cactus is a dragon of fewer words if he doesn’t know you. Only his expression would tell you what he thinks, normally either in a disgust for a “disrespectful” comment or action or a dark frown. Barely anyone has seem him, as an adult, smile, though it’s rumored he at least grins sometimes. He shows his affection by telling you to stop being stupid and start doing something useful, or just by keeping you close to te ground instead of in the clouds. Cactus will not hide his opinions on any matter, even telling the dragon over and over again how much he disapproves. This act was seen before when he met Firelily; he told her to be wary of Frostbite, since he knew the IceWing’s mission and tendencies. It’s also another way to prove he cares. “...coz I remember when my father put his fist through the wall and separated the dining room...”- Roman Holiday, Halsey Relations Hibiscus- Cactus’s mate. I don’t think I really had a base idea of how they met, but they did. He calls her “Desert Flower” whenever mentioning her to anyone but Sidewinder (then it’s “your mother”). He loves her through and through, although it is wondered by other dragons how loyal he truly is to his mate. Sidewinder- Cactus’s son. He chose his egg from the two Hibiscus had because it looked more SandWing-like, only to find the only thing that seperated him from his RainWing genes were his unchanging sand-colored scales. He hates the dragonet’s light and unserious attitude to anything but his relationship with Cala, though he will always support his son in his own ways. Firelily- Cactus’s daughter, whom he never really met until she came to him. He was surprised when Hibiscus thought he’d be mad at her for losing Firelily’s egg, and kept as close in contact as he could with Vulture and Starseer to bring Firelily back. Ocotillo, Saguaro, and Celeste- Cactus grew up with these dragons, in Three Moon Oasis they lived in. He still has close contact with Ocotillo, though has lost most connections with Saguaro. He was surprised when he found out Celeste was the mother of Sidewinder’s crush, and is currently trying to find ways to break the ice that’s grown over their relationship. Thorn- The leader of the Outclaws, Cactus is close with Thorn. When he’d left his old home and went to the Scorpion Den and first met Thorn, he knew he’d follow her as one of the Outclaws for as long as he lived. This bond strengthened when she let Cactus keep Sidewinder’s egg, even though he thought she’d reject at the part of “he’s a hybrid; the mother is a RainWing.” Other Outclaw Members- Members like Six-Claws and other unnamed members are Cactus’s friends and comrades. He’s not very fond of the younger ones like Qibli, but interacts with them when needed. “He cares...in his own, odd way...”- Celeste about Cactus Other * a cactus is a desert plant, sometimes having pretty flowers on it. * Cactus literally never calls Hibiscus...Hibiscus. He avoids saying her name at all, really, keeping it down to “your mother” to Sidewinder/Firelily, and “Desert Flower” when mentioning her to fellow Outclaws (who would have already known he had mated with a RainWing). So yeah. * I like to imagine that, because Thorn is a mother of a hybrid, she understood why Cactus came to her asking if he could raise his hybrid son as an Outclaw. More will be on Sidewinder’s page, but in short, because of not being there when he became an Outclaw member, Sidewinder isn’t as friendly with Thorn as the others are. * Cactus may have a distant SkyWing relative, giving him the gene for larger wings. * He may or may not be passive aggressive in some cases “Thorn, you have my undying loyalty. Forever.”-Cactus to Thorn (most likely after she agreed to let Sidewinder in the Outclaws even before he hatched) Gallery 1B5DCCB5-3074-4105-8D57-74758B274782.png|Cactus is the bigger one; Celeste is smaller; when they were young 5A9E6C27-938C-4D35-865E-99A950C27D7E.png|Cactus headshot by me Category:SandWings Category:Males Category:Characters Category:Content (PuppyLuvr06)